WELL ACCESSORIZED BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS LEWIS MODEL 1914 LIGHT MACHINE GUN

WELL ACCESSORIZED BIRMINGHAM SMALL ARMS LEWIS MODEL 1914 LIGHT MACHINE GUN

| Cal. 303 British. | S# A201. | Bbl. 26″. | 03-2314/MLW |

Designed just prior to the Great War, was a notable and unconventional innovation during the period. While contemporary machine guns heavily relied on water-cooling jackets in order to dissipate from extension firing, the Lewis featured an air-cooled design. Though the Lewis cost a notable sum more to mfg. as compared the Vickers machine gun, its comparatively light weight and portability, paired with its distinctive 47-rd. “pan” mag., proved instrumental on the Western Front, where German captured examples were frequently fielded in turn against the British. This example is marked “Manufactured by/ The Birmingham Small Arms Co. LTD./ ENGLAND/ For/ Armes Automatique’s Lewis/ BELGIUM”, as well as “Lewis Automatic Machine Gun/ Model 1914 – Patented” on the top of the receiver cover. Left side sliding charging handle locking plate is marked “LEFT”, followed by a star. Top of the bipod jacket band is marked “MOUNT FIELD 303/ LEWIS GUN MARK III/ C P LTD MAKER/ COVENTRY”. Metal components exhibit a reapplied blue finish overall, save for on the bolt, which is properly polished in-the-white, and the aluminum radiator, which is in-the-white. Bipod exhibits remnants of a green painted finish. Standard 2-piece smooth wood grips with plain wood buttstock featuring an integral oiler and a plain steel buttplate marked with patent information. Grips appear to have been sanded and refinished at one time. Stock and jacket are fitted with a khaki canvas sling, marked “M.H.W (LD)/ 1915/ W (BOARD ARROW) D”. Standard blade front sight and elevation adj. flip-up aperture rear sight. No matching numbers are present, which is not uncommon. Chamber area exhibits some porosity, little indicating a prior dewat. NFA Registry indicates “Birmingham Small Arms Co. in the mfg. block. MAGS: x9 47-rd. pan mags. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: quality contemporary wood transit chest containing x1 6th Edition “Lewis Gun Mechanism Made Easy” manual, x1 “The Complete Lewis Gunner by an Instructor” manual, a spare bbl., spare gas tube, spare piston, spare buttstock socket, as well as a wood cleaning rod. Additionally, this example is accompanied by a canvas maintenance roll kit mfg. by Holdall in 1931, containing another piston assembly, brass handled steel cleaning rod, an original brown leather spare parts / tool wallet, drum mag. loading tool, a BSA wrench and several small parts, a small stamped steel container containing x2 spare charging handles, a rope bore snake and cleaning brush, a brass capped stamped steel oiler bottle, as well as a 2-piece wood cleaning rod. Furthermore, this example includes an additional spare gas cyl. tube, a broken piston assembly, an original khaki canvas 4-drum mag. carrier, x4 2-mag. khaki canvas carriers, as well as x1 original 2-compartment steel Lewis mag. box containing 2 mag. loading tools, as well as x3 of the aforementioned 2-mag. canvas carriers. PROVENANCE: From the Harry A. Baldwin Estate Collection. NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT MG REQUIRING BATF TRANSFER BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION. FULLY TRANSFERABLE. CURIO. CLASS III GUN